We're doing the househunt in COlorado this weekend. But our first string dogsitters (the parents) are out of town, and with trying to sell the house, we can't do our usual standby of a dogsitter stopping by the house to feed and walk them... Past experiences with Kennels have been iffy (our girls just don't like being cooped up in that small of a space for so long)... So I checked out this place called Doggy Day Care (in Wichita, just of 2nd, between Hydraulic and Washington)- they are a day care for dogs, but do take overnight boarders when needed.
But before they'll take a dog, they require a half day test run, just to make sure the dog can play well with others. So I took the girls in this afternoon, got a quick tour, and hung out with dogs a bit until I was sure they were happy... then left them for the afternoon. By the time I picked them up, they each had a new best friend and were totally exhausted.
At doggy day care, they get to run around a giant indoor/outdoor space with dozen of other dogs of all types (all., of course, fixed and vaccinated). they are supervised by several humans, who also join in the fray (and usually refer to the canines as "the kids") they know all of the dogs by names (most are regulars).

The door between indoor and outdoor is covered with vertical tough clear plastic strips (to help keep the inside "inside" and the outside out)... the owner warned me that the dogs might take awhile to figure out that they just walk right through the strips... and as he's telling me this, one of the other handlers takes nelly's leash off... and zoom! right out she goes. that pup has no fear and is too smart for her own good.
When we picke dthem up, we got a report card, with just a brief recount of whether they were a good dog (of course they were!), what their preferred acivity of the day was (playing "catch me if you can"), who they played with (Nelly liked "Mocha"and Barbu met "Toby") with a reminder that they had a great time and want to come back.

It's not all that much more than kennelling them would be, and based on their reactions today, they'll have much more fun and attention... with enforced discipline (no jumping on humans, and the basic sit/stay are used when moving dogs around, etc...) and they might actually forgive Clayton a little faster when he gets home to pick them up... here's hoping!

This place has been around about 15 years, and the owner really seems to know dogs, care about them, and understand how they tick...